READING: Esther 1-5
It is arguably the best known verse in the book of Esther — Mordecai’s words to her as he challenged her to go to the king and plead for her people when Haman sought to destroy them: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b). Mordecai believed that God would deliver His people even from another direction if Esther did not speak (Esther 4:14), but he was equally willing to see that God had sovereignly raised Queen Esther to her position simply for this purpose.
Esther, too, apparently saw God's hand. She was willing to go before the king after the people of God had fasted for three days; in fact, she was ready to pay the price of death if that were the result: “And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). She would identify herself with the people and take whatever risk it would entail to approach the king, even if it meant breaking the law by approaching the king without first receiving his invitation.
Esther was indeed in the queen’s role for exactly that time. God in His sovereign plan gave her entrance to the king, who responded to her requests that would eventually free her people from Haman’s plot. In one of the many “reversals” of this book, Haman would be impaled on the very pole he had first prepared for Mordecai.
The book of Esther reminds us that God sovereignly has a plan for each of us. His providential hand sometimes guides us, in fact, into situations that could cost us our lives. He protected Esther in this story, but the book of Hebrews reminds us that God sometimes does not intervene to prevent a believer’s death (Heb 11:32-40). Whether we live or die, we should want to be exactly where God wants us to be in this time, on this day, in this hour—even if being in His will includes our perishing.
Indeed, “And if I perish, I perish” is not an expression of grief and fear for the follower of Jesus; it can be a statement of faith and obedience.
ACTION STEPS:
- Consider the times in your life when you knew you were where God wanted you to be in just that time. See His providential hand in your history and your present.
- Prayerfully think about what God wants you to accomplish where you are today.
PRAYER: “God, You are in control. Grant me faith to see Your hand in my life today, right where I am. Give me faith that follows You even to death if that were Your calling.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Esther 6-10
